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35 And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I have spoken unto you, and God will show unto you, with power and great glory at the last day, that they are true, and if they are true has the day of miracles ceased?

36 Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?

37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain.

Moroni 7: 35-37

I have carried this painting in my head a long time. I wanted to show grief, and the compassion of angels who carry the same burden of those who grieve. This is, of course, a statue, at a cemetery. I love painting statues, and this is one of my favourites.

I suppose the question is Why this painting? I have no answer other than I’ve been battling depression again, triggered by a difficult family event. I have friends who have lost children and I guess this is for them, I hope they find comfort in it.

I used a variety of soft pastels and Conte pencils, and some charcoal, though I couldn’t find my Generals charcoal, which I love. I’ll have to get another set, because I really love them and missed them on this.

I would love to redo this same theme in oils, if I ever get the courage to work in oils again.

I I love painting statues and had to paint this one. I wish I could say it was a happy Christmas angel, but it’s actually from a cemetery. Almost all statues I paint are from cemeteries. I love visiting cemeteries, I feel very comfortable there. I used to play in them as a child ( for us it was a park as we had no parks) and I believe that the dead are among us and encourage and help us daily. I have no fear of death as I had a near death experience ( anaphylactic shock) and I believe we carry on once this life is over, much like we shed a glove, our hand is still there, we will shed our bodies and our spirit is still there.

Painting on cheap paper is always a mistake, but I call this a practice piece, just wanted to see how it turned out. I did a gouache base, but the pastels still wouldn’t stick. I used mainly Pitt pencils and Rembrandts for the nice sheen on the statue, spraying a fixative between layers so it doesn’t blend too much.